Age-related cochlear structural changes include the degeneration of sensory, neural cells
and the stria vascularis. The hypothesis that cellular degeneration results from exposure to
oxidative products of respiration was tested by supplementing aged dogs with a diet high in
antioxidants and mitochondrial metabolites and by genetically modifying the expression
level of the antioxidant, manganese superoxide dismutase (SOD2) in mice. Aged dogs
received either a high antioxidant diet or a normal, control diet for the last 3 years of their life …